Tag: Blake Burkhalter

WATCH: The Voice of the Auburn Tigers calls the final out of the Corvallis Regional

Here’s how the final out of Auburn’s College World Series-clinching win sounded from the Voice of the Auburn Tigers

“The Tigers dogpile in Corvallis!”

Auburn Baseball clinched their second trip to the College World Series in their last three chances on Monday night, as they fought off the No. 3 Oregon State Beavers, 4-3 in game three of the Corvallis Super Regional at Goss Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon.

Following a two-run home run by Oregon State’s Justin Boyd that trimmed Auburn’s lead to one run in the 7th inning, Auburn head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] elected to call on [autotag]Blake Burkhalter[/autotag] out of the bullpen to close the game.

Burkhalter, the SEC’s leader in saves, would strike out five batters over 2.2 innings to grab his 15th save of the season with none being bigger than the final out of the game, where he struck out Garrett Forrester on a full count to put the game on ice.

Here’s how the final out of the Corvallis Regional sounded from the Voice of the Auburn Tigers, Andy Burcham, on the Auburn Sports Network.

Auburn was the final team to earn their way into the College World Series, and will continue their journey to a national championship on Saturday against fellow SEC-foe, Ole Miss. The Tigers meet the Rebels at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska at 6 p.m. CDT.

[mm-video type=video id=01g5fhzgzmn5brc3trd8 playlist_id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f1jz1vgtfhzk6ner image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g5fhzgzmn5brc3trd8/01g5fhzgzmn5brc3trd8-9931bd9d28cd43fd63aa89460218c70d.jpg]

[vertical-gallery id=48844]

Auburn bullpen uses ‘next man up’ mentality in win over Oregon State

After Trace Bright’s early departure from game one against Oregon State, the Auburn bullpen stepped up to aid in victory.

Prior to Auburn Baseball’s departure for Corvallis, Oregon, on Thursday, head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] told reporters that this year’s squad was special, citing that the players have meshed well with one another, which has formed a healthy clubhouse.

Auburn’s “got your back” mentality was on full display during game one of the Corvallis Super Regional, in the form of the bullpen, which was instrumental in Auburn’s 7-5 win over Oregon in game one of the best-of-three series.

Auburn starting pitcher [autotag]Trace Bright[/autotag]’s night unfortunately ended after recording just two outs on 47 pitches. Thompson called on [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag] to dig them out of a hole, before handing the baseball to [autotag]Tommy Sheehan[/autotag]. That is where the Tigers began finding success on the mound.

Sheehan took control of the game on the mound by tossing 3.1 innings of shut-out baseball, striking out three batters and allowing two hits. Sheehan’s confidence grew with every pitch, which erased the pressure that his team felt early on.

“We have had a ‘next man up’ mentality all year, and we just tried to stick with that, not try to do too much out there in a big spot,” Sheehan said in a postgame interview with the Auburn Sports Network. “(I just) tried to be myself and stick to the game plan and let the guys field behind me.”

Sheehan exited the game after the 5th inning, turning the keys over to [autotag]Carson Skipper[/autotag] and [autotag]Blake Burkhalter[/autotag] to close the game. Their outings were just as successful as Sheehan’s, which helped Auburn grab that valuable game one victory. Skipper struck out five batters in 3.0 innings of relief, which set up Burkhalter to grab his SEC-best 14th save of the season after allowing a run on two hits in the 9th inning.

“Those are the guys we want to get (the ball to), they have been our guys all year,” said Sheehan. “My motto has been ‘get the ball to (Burkhalter)’ all year. That’s what we did and it worked out for us.”

Auburn will turn to Joseph Gonzalez for game two of the Corvallis Super Regional against Oregon State on Sunday. The first pitch is set for 9 p.m. CDT, and can be seen on ESPN2.

[listicle id=48695]